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Stories
This is a new innovative
section where you guys [yes you!] can share your Melanie C experiences with
all the visitors. Whether you have met her, bumped into her, seen her,
waited outside a venue, or anything Melanie C related, we want to know!
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>> Meeting Melanie C
Submitted
By: Angie Hung
Story:
The first account involves
meeting Melanie several times over a weekend in Toronto in October of 1999.
It ends up in a beautiful way, as I get to have my picture taken with
Melanie all alone in front of her hotel:
We waited a really long time
for her to come at Much. But we met some really nice/cool people. Some of
them found out I was from Calgary (3 hour flight away), and even tried to
get me into the studio. Anyway, as you know, I got to ask a question.
But I should point out it was a question the lady kinda told me to ask
("What kind of mood were you in when you wrote Northern Star?") I don't
know how I got picked to ask, but I think she was some sort of promo lady.
The funny thing was that it was SO loud outside that I couldn't hear A
SINGLE WORD of her answer,so I just stupidly nodded my head and smiled
at her when she answered my question (she looked at me directly). Too bad
my hair was as flat as her chest that day. ;-)
I need to add more rise to it...
She looked REALLY REALLY DELECTABLE at Much!!! I've seen many stars in
person, and Melanie blew me away by how pretty she was, even with her short
hair. I'm a fan of her short hair now. Her skin was very spotless, her
arms looked bigger than in pictures (*not* her muscles, her arms in
general), and her tattoos looked smaller and cuter. Her phoenix eagle
tattoo, one that I had originally thought was too big, looks smaller and very
beautiful in real life.
When she turned around, you
could see her tight butt (very cute), and most of her lotus flower tattoo.
TRUST ME when I say her tattoos look even better in person. Her jeans were
cute blue
jeans with some of kind of light playful pattern on it, and it was slightly
folded up at the bottom. She had on cute and colourful runners. Again, I
stress that her hair looks REALLY good on her
in person, it had dual colours (original dark and the dyed lighter colour).
I'm THAT close to liking the short hair better than the original darker
longer hair.
I also nearly got into mega trouble at Much when during a quiet moment, I
YELLED live on air: 'Come the fuck outside'!!! (we all wanted her to come
outside to talk to us, but I made it known). I also did this quickie on Mel
C at Speakers' Corner, just trying to promote her album.
There was a really cute young girl on my right and her friend. She was
about 13/14, and one time yelled out: "Melanie, can I move in with you??!!"
She was a sweetie, I'll never forget her. I remember when I was falling
asleep waiting for Melanie to arrive, and she nudged me awake and gave me a
small lecture on how I should not be sleeping at a time like this. We were
also getting REALLY pushed and squished in the front, and she asked me to
push others for her so we could have more room, too funny!!!
There was this other Tommy Hilfiger bitch girl who got into the studio by
faking tears and pretending she could not breathe. I should have strangled
her so she really could not breathe... :-)
After Much, Fee, I, and a couple of other guys we met (very cool and very
nice - Mike and Craig) walked ALL OVER downtown looking at all the posh
hotels, but we didn't see Melanie. But it was a lot of fun seeing Toronto
this way (the guys certainly knew their way around). Mike is an Electric
Circus dancer for MuchMusic, and a budding clothes designer. Craig is a
crazy guy who collects star autographs - he got 32 at Much Video Awards!!!
He's also got an awesome Steps story. He was at the Britney Spears concert
and apparently went only for Steps (hee hee, sound familiar, Rinaldi??).
Anyway, he had this huge Steps poster, and the Steps van went by, and H
opened the window and pointed his finger at the poster and said something
like "look"!!!!! But he says the nicest stars he has met are the Vengaboys.
He also yelled at Rachel (the blond ditzy VJ at Much), and when she ignored
him, he yelled BITCH!!!
Further to my last email, Ying looked lively and friendly at Much, more so
than in pics I've seen of her. Mike and Craig told us where she would be the
next day, at a radio station. (KISS 92) There were only a handful of people
who knew this (thanks to Mike, the EC dancer). The people at KISS were VERY
NICE and
understanding with fans. The people at the station found out I was
from Calgary and wanted to ask me a few questions, so they interviewed me
through a cell phone. It went something like this:
Radio: Do you know we have quite a few Melanie C fans down here, including
one girl who flew all the way from Calgary??? Hey, come on over, what's
your name?
Me: Angie!!!
Radio: And you flew all the way over from Calgary?
Me: You bet!!!
Radio: So you must be a huge fan...
Me: I certainly am!!!
Radio: Do you realize you are shaking??
Me: (I wasn't shaking, I was just freezing from
the cold, but I decided to play along and say
something jokingly like "I'm not anymore!!!")
Radio: Have you heard her new album yet??
Me: YES, it's fantastic!!! I've heard quite
a few tracks through the Internet, and my favourite
ones are If That Were Me and Northern Star,
they're AWESOME!!!
Radio: So, do you have a question for Melanie?
Me: Um, yeah...What is her personal
favourite
from her Northern Star album? (I realize that's
a not-very-interesting question, but I honestly
was not prepared for this. Fee had a much
better question....).
Radio: Hey, now's your chance.... Did you want
to say hi to anybody back home??!!!
Me: YES!! Hi to my mum and dad, and Krista,
Mei Mei, and...
(at this point, Fee motions to say hi to Mike
Rinaldi), and so I scream VERY LOUD:
AND MIKE RINALDI!!!!
(although I know technically he's not from
Calgary).
I later heard this live on air
(they played the cell phone interview 2 minutes after they interviewed me),
which was about 5 minutes before Melanie arrived at the studio. I wonder if
she was listening....I may have said other things in the interview, but
I honestly don't remember.
When Melanie's dark van pulled up, her people got out (Jenny looked quite
non-expressive). She was in a hurry to get inside, but we all crowded around
her (well, I kind of remained perched on my fire hydrant), but I managed to
get Melanie's attention by handing her a small Madonna Blond ambition tour
postcard (with a short message to her on the back). She was walking in the
station, when she noticed the M picture, she stopped a while, and she was
clearly interested, and took it and said "Oh, Thanks!" in that lovely way
she speaks.
She was interviewed, said something about Madonna during it, and then
performed a live version of Going Down. They then played Northern Star on
air. her band came out first and piled into a white van. When Melanie came
out, it was fan pandemonium. Weirdly enough, I never moved from my fire
hydrant (I like it there on top), but I did manage to get her autograph (the
full "Melanie C"), even though I never really asked for it.
I had my arm sticking out with
my Spice postcard, and then all of a sudden she moved to it and signed it.
I did shout "Melanie, I wore my Madonna T-shirt for you", and she stopped,
looked at it, and said "oh, thanks, that's nice...", but she was also at the
same time being hurried by her people as she had to get to another
interview. But the funniest part was when I yelled out in a friendly way:
"Hi Jenny, Hi Ying!!!" They were VERY amused at this (because I recognized
them even though they are not that important), and shared a wonderful look
and chuckle between the 2 of them. And TRUST ME, it is not easy to get
Jenny to smile...
The bitchy girl and her friend were also unfortunately there, and they tried
to chase Melanie's van as it left, and nearly got run over themselves. I
thought that was very stupid and disrespectful on their part. The weird
thing was that the bitchy girl tried to become friends with me, but I gave
her the cold shoulder because I could not stand her attitude.
I also became friends with Jo and Kayla, who were inside the Much studio
during her interview the previous day. You can watch Kayla ask Melanie a
question if you've got the show taped... Jo got some AWESOME pics of
Melanie from the show....
We later tried to take the subways to catch Mel at her next radio
interview. Unfortunately, Mike and I were CHASING this girl who we THOUGHT
was Fee from the back (same purple jacket), but when he entered the train
and the doors closed behind us, the girl turned around to sit down, and we
found out
it was not Fee at all, but a damned lady that looks much like her from the
back. Anyway, we turned around and realized we left Fee, Tom, and Craig
back at the platform. They later got autographs at the next station (CHUM),
but Mike and I missed
her. Anyway, it was a cool chance to get to know Mike better, on a
friendship level, he really is a very nice/interesting/clued-up guy.
Because Fee and I were chasing Mel at radio stations, we didn't get to the
venu until 5:30 pm. But Jo and Kayla snuck us in front of the line (thank
you very much to them).
We met another very cool guy (also named Mike), a guy who I was very much
enthralled with, more on an emotional level. He's very intelligent and a
Madonna fan as well. He says the MOST funniest things... I think him and I
"understood' each other, if you know what I mean.
Anyway, when we went in, we all crowded to the front of the
smaller-than-I-expected stage. we were packed shoulder-to shoulder like
sardines. But it was a good opportunity to meet more people, and Fee and
others let me stand in front of them because I am so short. (thanks. :-)
) Way before the show began, people began shoving and swearing, but i was
also amusing. Some people I know cursed out Bitchy Spice's friend, and
picked on her (I kinda felt bad for her, to be honest, so I left her
alone). Mike took good care of me, and made sure I didn't get pushed back.
He had this cool telephoto camera (but later had to give up the film, the
security thought it was too intrusive a camera).
All of a sudden, Fee taps my shoulder excitedly. I turn around and see a
silhouette of Melanie CHANGING in a private room on the top floor. She
didn't realize her silhouette was showing, so we saw her take her shirt off,
take off her bra (she uses the 2-handed method), and then put on her concert
T-shirt. As Fee said, it was a wonderful
pre-show... foreplay, y'know... A guy who was full of himself suddenly
collapsed to the floor in a faint. He got up, but then apparently
re-collapsed in Fee's direction!!! He was lifted out of the show
before it even begun...
When she finally came on, it was quite a nondescript entrance, she simply
walked on stage. by this time, I was actually pushed to second row and
slightly to the left of centre-stage. She had on a red shirt with white
lettering of "C A N A D A" on it, blue jeans, and grey runners.
Since I was
so close, I took picks with Fee's camera, hope they turned out.... (??!!!!)
The show was very enjoyable, mostly because the object of my affection was
very close, and because I was right
in between 2 front row people, I got a completely unobstructed
view. At first, you could barely hear her, the sound levels
were awful. But that improved soon enough. You have all
probably heard her song set through the Internet, so I
won't go into that. I LOVE the song Take Me Higher (or
whatever it's called). Her nipples/breasts were showing,
but that's not a surprise. I noticed her arms and hands seem very
masculine (I'm not referring to the muscles, but to the whole
affect of her arms and hands), and boy, does she have
the nicest arms.... She was wearing an ear plug, so it was
very hard for her to hear what we were all screaming at her.
I did notice she was so much into her songs that she didn't
seem to make exact eye contact with many fans. I know
fans want to think they had eye contact with Melanie,
or that Melanie "noticed' them, but I think she is
SOOOO much into her music that she focuses on the
fans in general, if at all. I think the only time she noticed
my presence was when she noticed I was singing along
when others weren't (only because I have heard the songs
on the Internet). The funny thing was that when she looked
at me, I wasn't really looking at her at the time, but
desperately trying to match up the words to her singing,
but it was an interesting moment...
She's got stage presence, but she didn't move around as much
as I thought she was, she basically stayed center-stage, or moved
slightly to the left/right. (moreso to the left side, which was
our side). The best moment was when she suddently crouched to
the ground and spread open her legs. My biggest complaint
would be that she could have talked to the crowd more, maybe
she was just shy?? ;-)
Thanks to those of you who have uploaded songs to the Internet,
I was able to sing along to some of them. I noticed that
for many songs, the audience could not sing along or anything,
because they don't know the material at all. That's why it
was much quieter than it should/could have been. One time,
she sensually raised her shirt up to expose her Angel tattoo,
and the audience just went wild... I noticed the audience would
go the most wild when she did such things with her body....
All the girls (and guys) went WILD...
When she spit her water, she did it on our side of the stage,
so Fee and I both got wet in our left eyes. The show was
kinda short, about an hour and 15 minutes, but this
was without much audience patter and just a small
break before the encore.
After the show, Fee, Mike (the Madonna-liking one), Jo,
Kayla, and their 2 friends just WERE GETTING HIGH
in the parking lot. :-) Well, only because we were so
happy to see such a good show, and be that close to
Melanie. Jo said "She just has this AURA!!!" That
pretty much sums it up... She was turning on EVERYBODY
in that room, boy or girl...
I had a nice walk with Fee back to the subway, and we were
both going on and on about just how HOT she looks
on stage (more so me). I said goodbye to Fee because
she had to go back to London Ontario the next morning.
Well, this is it, the part where I met Melanie C at her hotel.
I wasn't going to go to the Four Seasons, but I decided,
"why the hell not??" I was by myself though...
Thanx Mike for telling me about her having
to check out of the hotel that day...
When I got to the hotel at 11 am, I was surprised
to see NO OTHER FANS there, not even Bitchy
Spice. As soon as I sat down, I saw Jenny go into
the hotel elevator, so I knew she was still there.
I tried to act like I was a business person, I would
sit down and read a travel brochure, and do things
like occasionally "check" the time, even though
I had no watch. I started getting antsy because the check-out
time was approaching, but no sign of her. But one thing
I did do was listen to everybody around me, trying to
get any hint whatsoever of her plans. I heard some guys
talk about doing some sort of interview on the 3rd floor.
I later saw a camera crew from what looked like YTV
(Canadian national youth TV station), and so I tried
to listen in on them by pretending to drop things
near where they were. (It's amazing what you pick up
when people think you are not a fan, but an industry
person). I found out they had an interview with Melanie
at 1:10 pm (which was after the check-out time).
The HILARIOUS thing was that these
YTV folk thought *I* was also from the press,
and were asking me questions on whether or not
she arrived and where she was, and what floor she
was on. I tried to answer to the best of my ability,
and apparently fooled them very much that they told
me the location and time of their own interview.
(they said fourth floor though).
I got sick of waiting in the lobby and proceeded
to take the elevator to the 3rd floor. I was surprised
that i was able to walk around by myself around the floor
without being questioned at all. I think because I
looked very much like an industry person...
I checked in all the meeting rooms, but could not find her
anywhere. I then went up to the fourth floor, and listened
in in all the private rooms. I found out she had earlier
been on that floor. However, a security girl found me
and asked "who are you with"? She seemed shocked
when I told her the truth (that I was just a fan). She
took me back to the lobby (because she said she had to).
In the lobby, I noticed her entire band waiting for their
transportation to the airport. I had a most pleasant
chat with them, mostly because it was just me and them.
The most interesting point was when I asked them "so,
do you like working with Melanie?" and there was a
DEFINITE pause, before they looked at one another
and eventually said "yes", but not in the most convincing way.
I introduced myself, and got their names (well, it sounded like
'Claire' (the dykey-looking one who actually doesn't look
that dykey in person, she looked kinda cool), 'Meduse' (which
I have told you about how sweet she is), 'Fergus', 'Paul' and one
more whose name I didn't get at all (he is bald-headed, I think
he is the keyboardist). (Come to think of it, perhaps one of their
band members wasn't there). They are all from England, including
Meduse, who was born in Portugal, but has lived in London
for 12 years now. Claire said she recognized me from the concert,
and they all seemed pleased when in response to whether or
not I liked the show, I said "oh, YES, it was AWESOME!!".
They also asked where I was from. When their van came, they
were nice and said "nice to meet you". And I told you already
what Meduse said to me, which touched me in a way she herself
will never know...
I went back to sit down. That's when the main security guy asked me
who I REALLY was, and when I pretended to be a business
associate at Nortel, he didn't believe me (probably because
the security girl on the 4th floor had briefed him). What I didn't
know at the time was that he thought I was not even a fan, but
a professional autograph hound, who was trying to seek a celebrity's
autograph and then sell it for mega-bucks. Anyway, I was kicked out.
Undaunted, I immediately proceeded to the back entrance, and thank
goodness, it was an entrance that let me go to the second floor
without
having to go through the lobby. I then later took the elevator
from the 2nd floor to the 4th floor. This time, the security girl
was
in
one of the rooms, so I quickly hastened to the opposite side of the
room, again trying to listen in on people. I found the YTV interview
room, and the interview was about 10 minutes away. I stayed outside
the room (knowing that Mel C had to pass me before going in), and
then did one of the scariest things in my life: Whenever a security
girl/guy
came by, I would pretend to speak in my cell phone and "talk
business"
(even though the cell wasn't even on, LOL)!!! I would say things
like:
'yes, could you fax me the invoice to the office number.... no.. not
that number, the other one. Okay, thanks.")
I fooled quite a few security people,
and no one even bothered to check me out or verify who I was...
I think you would be surprised that I could have walked into one of
those
plush private rooms and use the bathroom, sit down, relax, make a few
phone calls, you name it...
But as fate would have it, about 5 minutes before her YTV interview
was
supposed to begin, the head security guy who threw me out of the
lobby
came by on his rounds.... He seemed shocked to find me there, and
proceeded to take me all the way outside, and said if I was to enter
the hotel again, I would face trespassing charges. I sat outside
for a while, before I went back into the covered driveway (but not
into the hotel itself), trying to look for Melanie. He saw me again,
and then THIS TIME, he took me to the hotel's underground security
room, and made me sign a security form. He checked my id and
everything.
He also took down my entire name and address.
I had to sign a form that indicated that I understood that if I
entered
the hotel anytime in the next 6 months, or if I even walked on
ANYTHING
that was part of the hotel property (this includes a branch of a
tree
that is on their curb amongst other things), I would face a 1000
dollar
fine and be arrested. Indeed, it was a scary, if not amusing,
moment.
Heck, even if I touched a flower on their front yard outside the
hotel,I would be in violation, he said. Needless to say, I was kinda
paranoid from that moment on, and I was just about to go home
and realize that it wasn't in God's will for me to meet Melanie.
Also, I then found out that they had their entire security team
on watch for me...
While I was outside deciding what to do next, I actually bumped into
a friend from Calgary who was in Toronto visiting his sister.
I had a nice chat with him, but refused to say why I was just banned
for 6 months from the Four Seasons (do you know how hard it is
to say you're trying to meet a SPICE GIRL and you're a 22-year old
girl)??!!!
All of a sudden, I see Melanie's driver, and I motion towards him.
He comes by, and I think he was talking to the head of security,
because he didn't ask who I was, but just came up to me and asked
me what I wanted signed. I told him all I wanted was a picture
with Melanie, but that I couldn't go nearer to him because I was
just banned from the hotel. He said that she had to leave very soon
and rush off to the airport, but he said he would see what he could
do. All of a sudden, I see Melanie's party leaving and getting into
the van. I stayed where I was (because I didn't want to
be arrested). But then the driver motioned towards me to come
up to them, and that it was okay (I didn't know he kinda knew
about the ban in a more detailed way by that time).
Anyway, I knew this was my only chance, and I said "to heck
with being arrested, I'm gonna get my picture". I rush up to
the curb and then Melanie comes out.
Everything from that time on is a blur. I realized she was in
a hurry, so I tried to be as quick as possible myself.
She looked very nice (if not "normal"), and not dressed up
(gray sweatpants). She said something like "hello', in a soft
shy way, while also trying to tie a scarf around her neck (and
she politely smiled too).
I was INCREDIBLY apologetic, and said how I
felt bad bothering her, but that I really wanted a picture.
She said "oh, it's not a problem". as we got closer,
I said I saw her show last night, and that was it was awesome
(gee, I better get another word), she smiled and said
"oh thank you!". Now, I was afraid to put my arm around
her in any way because I didn't want her to get the
wrong impression (ie. I didn't want her to know the truth
that I'm quite attracted to her physically, LOL). But as I handed
my camera to the driver, she put her right arm around my
back (because I'm so short, it wasn't the stomach) and pulled
me in tighter. I was in heaven, and so it is very hard to remember
this moment exactly. I did *slowly* put my left arm around her
stomach/back,
but I made sure not to be too aggressive, or, um, eager (even though
inside
I was so eager beyond belief). The driver snapped the picture
after saying something like "okay, get ready". After the picture,
I think I said "Thank you" but it is all a blur to me. I then said
(MORE TO MYSELF and to the driver), "I feel so bad!!"
I said it in a very endearing way, something my close friends
know me for. BUT, Mel thought I was talking to her,
and she instantly whipped around and said loudly and with
much concern "oh, darling, why??" I SO DID NOT expect
her to reply like this or even to listen to me (partly
because I know how shy she can be), so I was
stammering, and said that I just felt bad bothering her.
She must have thought I felt bad because there was something
wrong with HER!!!... All of a sudden, I notice the security
guy, and I started getting a little scared, thinking that he
would arrest me. But to my shock, he smiled at me, and said
"glad you got the picture you wanted". You see, he was mean
to me the previous times because (as he later explained to me),
he really did think I was a professional autograph hunter (because
he thought I was clever, didn't look like a fan, and that I was
a fast runner). (the last point is ironic since I never ever ran
that day, not even once, I just found second entrances into
the hotel) But he finally seemed apologetic, if not amused.
I also noticed Melanie's party with huge smiles on their
faces. I think partly because they too thought I was referring
to Melanie when I said "I feel so bad", and because they knew
about the security team on watch for me because the security
thought I was an autograph hound, and also perhaps
because Jenny/Ying recognized as the girl from the previous
day who said "Hi Jenny, Hi Ying!!" I think the driver
had a chat with the security guy about me as well, since
the security guy all of a sudden knew I wasn't an autograph hound
(because as you notice, I did violate my ban when I rushed
towards Melanie to get the picture). As the van drove away,
I did wave to the driver, and the second row of seats in the
van, but because the windows were tinted, I couldn't
exactly see who/where I was waving at. The driver
also waved to the head of security, indicating that they
must have chatted about this in some sort of way (because
in the hotel, the driver did not seem to know the security
guy at all). But the amusing/good thing is that everyone
in the van seemed to be smiling/laughing at everything
that just happened, so at least I made them leave
Toronto happy somehow... LOL
As I have said, the pic turned out well (or at least Mel did,
I still think I looked much worse than I am capable
of looking).
Whew, that's it!!! The picture of me and her outside her Toronto hotel
can be found at:
http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~ahung/AngMel.jpg
----------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------
The next account details what happened at a private acoustic
performance
with a question-and-answer period afterwards. There were only about 150
people
in the room, it was a very intimate setting. This took place December
2000 in Calgary:
----------------------------------------
Let's just say I tried a few questionable things to get the tickets to
the private gig, because I was making myself sick trying to
phone in and win the fair way (through the radio station). The gig had
only 107 tickets, and the only way was to win through
the radio station. So eventually what I did was track down another
winner only 7 minutes after he had won his tickets by going
through the phone book and phoning everybody with his last name.
Anyway, this was the weirdest setting ever for a Mel C concert. It was
completely sit-down!!!! And because the theatre
only fits about 150 people, it was very intimate and very different from
a regular Mel C concert. My friend and I
got 2nd row (because they let a few seats in the front row to some
"special" people), but it was close enough. I had
a perfect unobstructed view of Melanie only a few feet away. tight
brown shirt - blue jeans worn low - big white belt
white very-plain trainers. I got some great pics, so I hope they turn
out. Anyway, because the gig was so intimate andbecause there were many many shy people there, I got to yell out to my
heart's content and she heard me every single time (and
so did the rest of the audience)
When the band first came out, I yelled "I love you Claire" (only because
I was excited and didn't know what to yell),
and Melanie laughed and turned around and said to Claire "we love you
too". and this was before anything had begun!!
She sang 5 songs, if I recall correctly in order:
Never Be The Same Again
Be The One
Northern Star
If That Were Me
Going Down
After the 2nd song (because NOBODY spoke while she was singing as it
wasn't exactly a rock concert), I yelled out:
You have a beautiful voice!!
and she turned and looked and me and smiled and said nicely: "thank
you... (pause) I work very hard".
I had nothing to shout out in reply, I just remained silent and smiled
back at her. Literally, because the only people who were willing to
talk was
me, and my 2 friends in front of me (who are also major major fans), it
was just a really cool session where she could hear
*every single word* we spoke, but of course, we didn't speak too much in
fear of holding up the concert. The venue was so small
even the audience heard every word we said (because we were the only
ones saying anything).
She sounded very very very good live, practically just like how she does
on the album. Very strong voice she had.
In fact, I'm amazed at how good her voice is live, it is incredibly
strong and clear, and I'm so not exaggerating.
She had her gold tooth in.
At the end of the songs, she left and then her band members left, and
then I was the only person to say something, so I said
"bye Paul", because Paul was the last person to leave the stage (Paul is
her main guitarist). And Paul said a nice "bye" to the audience,
and so the entire audience laughed (because again, you could hear *every
single person* speaking in that room, it was kind of
bizarre).
Then she came back out later, and sat down *right in front of my friend
in front of me*, so again, she was only a few feet
away, and her head was at the height of our eyes. It seemed more like a
living room setting than anything. I was only able
to take one picture of her here, as I was at the last shot in my roll.
She then fielded a few questions from the audience. She first answered
a question from my friend Jenn in front of me, about
why Independence Day was not on Northern Star because she (Jenn) loved
it. Remember, she is sitting right in front of Jenn
so Jenn was shaking like crazy. Melanie said something about how the
song wasn't completely finished/ready when the album came out,
or something like that.
Then another person asked something, probably about how long she's been
singing (sorry, but a true fan should know this, but I think it was a
young boy who asked her). She said that she's been singing ever since
she's been young since her mom sang in a band.
I then got to ask a question. But before I did, I said:
"I think I speak for everyone in this room when I say that we so
appreciate you coming to Calgary and I nearly cried when I found out you
were coming here."
The entire audience clapped and cheered and hissed when I said this, and
Melanie looked truly flattered by the audience because of this. I then
asked my question:
"Your last track on your album, Feel The sun, is just so powerful. I
remember I was listening to it kinda half-asleep one day and I just woke
up crying and I don't know why. Can you explain this song for us?"
When I said the part about waking up crying, I heard some people in the
audience go "aww" and I know Melanie did the same, and her reply was one
of the longest drawn-out replies I've ever heard. To be honest, I don't
recall exactly what she said, but it seemed to go on forever, and she
looked at me the whole time, so I was in heaven, no matter what she
said. :-)
Here's basically what she said:
"When I was writing that song, I had undergone a lot of things over in
the UK and with the Spice Girls, and I just needed to get away. When I
sing about "this angel's my salvation", the "angel" is LA, because that
was the time where I took off to LA to write my album. I was going
through so many things, and I just needed to clear my head and find
myself again. You know, the papers in the UK can be pretty awful, and I
needed to feel something else, so when I went to LA, I wrote the song
about how I needed to find myself again." (and this is the short
version of it, I honestly don't remember everything she said, but even I
was amazed that she went on and on and on and looked at me the whole
time. Eventually the MC had to cut her off!! Oh yeah: she also said
something about how answering this question was important because she
"felt so emotional right now".
She was later asked when she would come back to Calgary, and she said a
joke about the weather being a factor (as it's so cold here right now).
But she said she may come back in March when she has her entire band
with her.
She was asked how many records Northern Star has sold, and she laughed
and said she wasn't quite sure, but that it was about 2.2 million
worldwide, and everybody cheered this.
A small girl offered her cookies, and had to throw them from the balcony
(there was a main floor as well as a balcony).
Um, her face and hair looked great. Again, I'll let the pictures
develop first. I noticed that her brown roots are showing back again.
Her skin and face is much prettier in person, which I find slightly
amusing and even a bit odd (because most celebrities I have met look
exactly the same as they do on TV and in photos).
OH, and I got her water bottle after the gig. She only had taken a few
sips from it. I opened it, and smelled the cap and where she put her
mouth (hey, at least I admit this), and it actually smelled nice and
quite distinctive, kind of like a non-strong smelling flower. It
certainly doesn't smell bad. But it's not a smell I can describe.
I'll tell you all about the autograph signing later. I did get my pic
with her, but I don't think it will turn out great, as my friend who
took it was on some odd sort of angle and Melanie had to bend towards me. But one thing about the autograph signing: After I got my autograph, I went
back around to the front to just stand and drool over her...
She was talking to one of the fans (I guess or maybe not), and she just
suddenly burst out crying (more like sobbing) and she seemed embarrassed
about this and put her head down. At first, I thought it was because a fan
said something nice to her, but then I later realized that Ying looked
suddenly quite mad (but didn't say anything), and then I think that someone
must have said something incredibly mean to her or incredibly nasty to her,
because it certainly didn't look like a good cry anymore. It turned on all
of a sudden, for about 10 seconds, and then she looked up, and suddenly put
on a her happy face again. So I think she handled it very professionally.
But I do honestly think that she was incredibly emotional at that time and
perhaps very sensitive too, and I do think that some things hurt her very
badly. I will tell more about the autograph signing later. Because Ying
was very nice and polite during the entire signing, but then she and Melanie
and Jennie all suddenly got very very mad and perhaps a bit confused (Ying
looked very confused) because of this person that made Melanie cry. Ying
didn't bother to touch or comfort Melanie physically though. I admit I
actually got a snap of Melanie crying, but she was looking down anyways.
------------------------------------------------------
I remember a few more things now:
In answer to my question, Melanie also added in the beginning: "oh no,
you're going to make me cry now... as I'm very emotional right now".
Melanie kept looking at my 2 friends in front of me a *lot*. She
obviously liked them very much. They went through hell like me too toget
the tickets. In a way, I think they are more dedicated than me...They got
to the autograph signing at 5 in the morning!!!! I got there at 1:30 pm.
It was minus 25 degrees at 5 am at least!!
She let something slip about being currently on a diet... nobody seemed to
notice this comment. But she does look skinnier compared to pics taken a
few months/weeks ago.
She was asked if there was a certain artist, dead or alive, that she
would want to work with (another nonsense question for major Melanie
fans). she, of course, said Madonna. And how she hopes they can work
together some time in the future.
She said that she may turn Independence Day into a duet with Bryan
Adams, so it looks very possible she is to work with him again.
She also said that she is aware of the bootlegs of all her demos
available on the Internet!!!!!!!! (specifically the one that contains
You Taught Me, I believe she is referring to the work-in-progress CD
here). She kind of said this in a joking but also pressing
hint-hint-arggghh manner.
She had a small slight belly that was very cute. Because her jeans were so
low, the crotch section looked like it had a
bulge in it. :-)
---------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
Here's what happened at an autograph signing earlier on the same day:
My 2 friends got to the line-up for the autograph signing at 5 in the
morning, even though it was minus 25 Celcius!!!
That's dedication... They had to wait until 9 am for the store to even
open. They did have blankets with them though,
but they said they didn't help. I myself got to the signing at 1:30 pm
for the 3:30 pm signing.
Melanie had quite a lot of make-up on and she also had her glasses. She
wore a black shirt with a monkey's face on it
(caricature of a monkey). She had on a grey sweater so you couldn't see her
arms. But she later took off her grey sweater
to reveal her incredibly-bronzed unblemished arms (I've seen blemishes on
them before in pictures, so she might have just been tanned). I went nuts
trying to take pictures when this happened, and tried
not to drool as I was right in front of the gate in front of her. I
also really noticed her much-bigger breasts when she took off her grey
sweater. It looked like she was wearing a bra at both the autograph signing
and the performance later that evening.
Ying was surprisingly nice and polite and non-agressive. She just sat
there beside Melanie (but there was still some space
between her and Melanie) and thanked fans for their gifts and all. I
gave Melanie a gift bag with 2 shirts and 3 CDs.
When I put my gift on the table, I knew that it was better to hand it
over to Ying, so I did politely put it in front of her and said to her and
Richard: "this is for Melanie". I said it extremely quietly (which is
strange because I'm usually loud), and i didn't expect a reply because I was
so soft, but I heard Richard say "oh, thank you" and Ying looked at me and
said very nicely and gently: "oh.... thank you very much" (which was
something I admit I didn't expect). I remember that Louis Malloy, the guy
who does many of the tattoos for the Spice Girls, said that the tour manager
was not very nice during the whole tattoo thing, but Richard certainly
seemed nice here. He also had the responsibility of making sure everything
went smoothly, so he
was quite busy as well.
Melanie was incredibly nice during the autograph signing, to everybody. She
would pose for pictures when asked, but still was signing autographs while
posing for pictures, so that everyone could get through the line-up. *They
were rushing people incredibly fast*, perhaps too much so, my friend barely
had time to take a picture of me and Melanie... In fact, Melanie later
poked fun at the security, imitating them and acting as if she was them by
saying "Oh Melanie, rush rush rush, go go go". She laughed when she was
doing this.
Again, her face was really made-up, a whole lot of concealer and a
decent amount of black eye-liner as well, so she did look a bit fake and
perhaps not as real as she does when she wears little to no make-up. (I
prefer the little to no make-up on her).
There were a lot of fans, so I was very happy for Melanie. I don't know how
she managed to maintain her smile throughout the whole thing, even my
friend, who isn't a Melanie fan at all, commended her for this.
Except for that 10-second cry, she was just so nice and friendly
(without coming across as fake or overbearing).
Ying had a digital camera with her. In the newspapers today, I notice
that Ying has a ring on her middle finger of her left hand.
Melanie was especially nice to the little kids, and she still was able
to sign like mad-woman. I heard in Edmonton it was the same thing too: she
was able to get through so many people as the line-up moved so
quick.
I got the picture of me and her from last year signed. When she saw the
picture, she was looking down at it, and said something that sounded
like "Madonna", but I doubt this was what she said. I asked if I could
have my picture taken with her, and Melanie instantly said "sure!!" and then
the security immediately said something about it having to be quick (oh,
screw them). As i mentioned before, Melanie had to lean over to get close
to me, but I don't know if my friend's camera was able to capture this,
we'll see. Because she had to brace herself, no arm around me or anybody
else who got a pic with her, at least from what I was able to see.
Again, her arms looked strangely bronzed, and not the normal
skin-colour. Her tattoos looked incredibly large this time, maybe
because her arms are just so huge in general? I remember in the concert
(where her arms were covered up by her brown top) that her hands seemed very
big, even a bit masculine.
And I do remember that at the performance when she didn't have glasses on,
she said something about not being able to see all too clearly because she
didn't have her glasses.
Pictures of all the above from
December 2000 can be found here:
http://www.madonna-melaniec.com/melcalgary
http://www.madonna-melaniec.com/melcalgary/index2.html
http://www.madonna-melaniec.com/melcalgary/index3.html
>> Meeting Melanie C
Submitted
By: Angie Hung
Story:
The next
account is from March 2001, when my friends and I met Melanie in the workout
room of her Calgary hotel:
Basically, we met her working out *all alone* in the workout gym. She
was wearing some kind of black spandex-feeling top with no sleeves
(obviously a top designed for working out), grey track pants (looked to be
made of cotton), and white runners. She had her hair up, no make-up,
and had her gold tooth in. Her skin looked very nice though.
She also had on black
fingerless work-out gloves.
She was working out on a machine that exercises the calf muscles. (you have
to bend down to use it, and you lift your legs up behind you). I opened the
door and said very lightly, "Melanie?" She turned around a bit unsure and
said "yes?", as she didn't know who I was and didn't know at that time that
I was a fan (I'm 24, and look very studious and not like a "typical" fan).
I then explained to her that I was a fan and was with 2 other fans and that
I had a gift for her.
She walked over to me (I guess
now understanding who I was) and seemed more sure of what she was doing, and
took my gift and said something (must be some kind of "thank you"). I
then told my 2 friends outside (Matt and Jens) that it was okay, and
that they could come in (hee hee, they were saying 'oh my god oh my god' and
other things, I think).
I then asked Melanie if we
could have her picture taken with us, and she said, to my surprise,
"Sure.... why don't we step outside so that we don't bother the people in
here?" (There were
2 other people exercising in there, and they looked up at me and
smiled, probably wondering who Melanie C even was...). We were in a very
small workout room (like the size of a dining room,
probably a bit larger). As far as I know, Melanie motioned for me to
go ahead of her, and I honestly don't remember how she led me out, but she
*may* have put her arm around me,
but not tightly or anything like this. Anyway, so we step outside into
the (indoor) pool room and Melanie smiled and laughed at my 2 friends who
are still shaking and says "I'm a normal girl, I'm just like ya". She then
said that she is working out, and Matt goes "as if you need to", and then
Melanie flexes her biceps for us and
says something like "really" (obviously in a joking/asking manner).
We ask for pics and we get
them (2 of me and Melanie as we had 2 different cameras, and 2 of Matt and
Jenn with Melanie). Then another lady got up and asked us if we wanted a big
group picture, and so we got one with all 4 of us well. The pictures had
better turn out. :-)
I don't remember much of the
picture-taking, but Melanie did put her arm around all of us, despite
sweating a lot (I could feel all the water sweat when I touched her back).
That's so cool of her
to be willing to take pictures here like this. She also apologized to
us for being sweaty. I think she was very flattered that Matt and Jenn
were so ecstatic (I was happy, but not ecstatic). I do remember Melanie
smiling/laughing the whole time and she was
extremely polite. I also remember Matt and Jenn saying "I can't believe
it's YOU", and Melanie finding this funny.
I remember talking to Melanie during all of this, but I don't remember at
all what I might have said, but I do remember saying "You are the most
nicest celebrity in the whole world" to which Melanie giggled.
Jenn then later showed Melanie pictures of her room which had Spice pictures
*all* over it, and Melanie looked through them and made some sort of funny
comment, of which I don't remember at all. at the end, she motioned to give
them back to Jenn, but Jenn told her that they are hers to keep, to which
she thanked Jenn.
Okay, so here is the funniest part: Jenn later apologized to Melanie for
"scaring Claire". (This is too long of a story, and I might not post about
it because I don't want to give people ideas). Anyway, Melanie responds,
"Claire's a *tough* girl" and
was smiling all along, so Melanie didn't seem to mind. Jenn went on to say
that I might have *really* scared Claire, to which Melanie turned to me and
asked with a smile: "What did you do?" To be honest, I didn't scare Claire
at all, she gave me her cell phone number in the end and phoned me back
later on that evening, but enough about this. :-) and then Jenn goes:
"well, we accidentally phoned through to Claire.." and then Melanie
instantly
jumps on this comment, and goes "oh YEAH, sure, ACCIDENTALLY" and then she
imitates a phone with her
left hand and pretends to speak into her phone and says "oops!!
Claire, ACCIDENT, didn't mean to get through to you!!!", This was
soooooooooo funny, and it made all of us (including Melanie) crack up with a
lot of laughter. That was quick on her to pounce on Jenn's "accident"
comment. It's impossible to explain here what this looked like, but it was
a brilliant comment by Melanie, and we were all laughing so hard
because of it. You should have seen Melanie's facial expressions when she
was doing this.
I do also remember that when I first took a picture of Matt and Jenn, the
flash didn't go off, and so Melanie made a nice comment about it not going
off, so I had to take another picture (and so Melanie had her arms around
Matt and Jenn longer, hee hee).
I also remember Melanie asking us near the beginning if we had tickets to
her show (which when you think about it, is such a stupid question, hee hee,
because of course we did!!!), and Jenn showed Melanie her ticket to the
show. We told Melanie, 'Of course we're going to your show).
OH YEAH!!! And Jennifer, before meeting Melanie (as we saw her arm tattoos
through the gym window before we entered the gym) tripped over and fell down
over a couple of the pool chairs. Matt told this to Melanie, and Jenn was
really embarrassed, and Melanie laughed and said "I thought I saw something
go flying by!!!"
Later on, as we were yelling and screaming in the street in total joy, we
literally bumped into Paul, Beth, and Arden who were doing some shopping,
and then at the very same time, Claire
popped up behind us (she must have been right behind us the whole time and
may have heard some things we were saying), so we all got our pictures
taken with them. When I tried to take a picture of Matt and Jenn with the
band, I didn't realize the camera wasn't even turned on, and so when I
pushed the button, nothing happened. The entire band made a big joke
about this, and groaned and put me down (in a good funny way). Jenn rushed
over and showed me how to turn the camera on. :-)
Matt said he wanted to sit in front of Claire, and Paul chimed in "you're
not the first one"! LOL!!!!
I then got my picture taken with the band (ie, Fergus was the only one not
there). We then went our separate ways, Claire to TD mall to do some
shopping, Paul/Beth/Arden back to the hotel, and us to cheer some more down
the street. What's funny is that when Claire reached the walking light, she
made this mad dash across the street, and jokingly turned around and
looked at us (but she was smiling). She was essentially pretending to run
away from us... :-)
This may because Jenn decided
to demonstrate her karate kicks in front of Claire... We later saw
Claire back at the hotel going in and out of the bus. I took a picture of
Claire with my friend Ophelia, and Claire was *very* patient and nice.
Um, but I do believe Melanie
recognized me, Matt, and Jenn, since we were were initially some of the only
ones standing. I'm positive Claire recognized us (she winked at me, but I
don't recall when).
After the show in Calgary, the various members of the entourage come out. I
hand to Beth some pictures that Jenn wanted me to give over, because I knew
Melanie would be swarmed when she came out (which she was, protected mostly
by the tour manager, ahem, Richard Jones). At first Beth tells me that
"oh, Melanie will be coming out shortly" but then she sees my entire body
sigh (because I know it will be very hard to hand Melanie something when
everybody else will be swarming her). So then Beth goes (nicely): "okay, I
will take them for you". Through the front of the bus I can see beige-colored
leather seats and a black stereo at the front of the tour bus. I later
see Claire take out a Safeway bag filled with groceries, and I see her take
out some bananas to begin with (before the curtain was closed). Ying later
comes out carrying many things, one of them a huge bucket filled with water
bottles. I saw Ying's profile, and she looks skinny. And I notice she gives
a sly smile to herself as she steps outside, perhaps because the attention
and staring by some Melanie fans makes her feel important. :-)
I bought another tour shirt in Vancouver, seeing as mine was stolen
from right behind me in Calgary. :-( I want it because it's got the tour
dates at the back and Calgary is listed as #1!!!!
In Vancouver, I didn't even bother to try to find her, as I was out with my
sister and my family during the day, and no way would they even accompany me
on such "excursions" so I didn't even bother asking them. However,
interestingly enough, my sister and I were walking downtown and all of
a sudden, she had to go to the bathroom, so we decided to enter the nearest
hotel and pretend we knew where we were going so we could use the bathroom.
And lo and behold, as we went up the stairs into the main lobby, I see
Richard Jones, Arden Hart (pianist), and Paul Gendler.
Arden is leaving, but I do get
Paul's autograph on my Mel C ticket. I later see the tour bus that I saw in
Calgary parked outside the street. Through the back window, I
see Beth and Arden sitting. One of them is smoking, I think it is Arden.
Anyways, I ask for their autograph, and they sign my newspaper with Melanie
C on it. Beth just signs her name, and Arden signs "With love, Arden".
Both are very nice, and I'm the only fan who recognizes who they are. I ask
if they know where Claire is, but they say they haven't seen her in a long
while. I'm with my sister, and so I can't really stay and stick around, so
we leave after getting the autographs. They were staying at the Westin
Grand on the 26th floor. This is not the most prestigious hotel in
Vancouver (although it is certainly not bad), because most of the major
celebrities stay at the Four Seasons or the Sutton in Vancouver. There are
so many hotels in Vancouver, and the possibility of finding the exact hotel
Melanie is staying at by pure chance is a bit odd, but lucky.
A picture of me and Melanie in the workout room can be found
here.
>> Meeting Jennie
Roberts, Melanie's Stylist
Submitted
By: Angie Hung
Story:
Here is what happened in March 2001 when my friends
and I got to talk to Jennie Roberts, Melanie's hairstylist and make-up
artist). (Jenn = my friend Jennifer)
Me and Jenn just exited a meeting with the Marketing Director at
Power 107 (who was explaining nicely to us why the interview was
closed to the public). As Jenn and I were leaving the station lobby,
Jennie came to sit in the very small lobby of the radio station. I
said "Jennie?" and she turned around and was very nice/sweet and said
"yes?" and then I asked "Can we have your picture taken with you?" She
said "oh, you can have one taken with Melanie, she'll be out shortly."
Me and Jenn then went to get Matt and Ophelia to come back upstairs
(they were waiting in the lobby of the building, while the lobby of
the radio station is on the 19th floor). Jennie
wasn't feeling very well and so wasn't up to taking her picture with us, but
she was certainly up to do some talking!!
I will go over the
topics we talked about, although this is certainly not the right order, as I
don't even remember the order we discussed things. But before I
go on, I must say this: she is a very intuitive person, and so also
comes across as very genuine. She talks very calmly, softly, and
perhaps even a bit slowly. Her voice is very gentle. She does not talk loud.
I came away totally liking her as a person/individual.
Jennie is sitting down on a
2-seat leather sofa. There is only the 2-seat leather sofa and 2 1-seat
sofas diagonally across from it. So Jenn sits in 1 chair, Ophelia sits
in another, Matt sits on the arm rests of both chairs (as they are
side-by-side) and I sit beside Jenny on the 2-seater. Jennie
said she is coming down with a cold and came out to the lobby to rest.
And that she is "coming down with something". Jenn shows Jennie her
pin that has Ginger crossed off on it, and explains to Jennie that she
nearly called her cat Ginger but was happy she didn't. Jennie laughs and
says "it's because Geri left, isn't it". We talked a bit about
Forever, and possibly about the lack of promotion for Forever. Jenn and Matt
say that it's a very good album, and I think Jennie agrees. I also think she
agreed to my comment about how there was no promotion for Forever (and
that's why it didn't do that good). Jennie also makes a comment about
the album cover for Forever, but I don't remember what she says. Jennie
doesn't know that the album cover in the UK is the same one as for Canada.
Jennie takes out some of her
mint gum for herself. She then offers it to me, and gently squirts out a gum
piece. She then does the same for Jenn, Matt, and Ophelia. Jenn and Matt
joke about how they will not eat the gum, but will save it as it is a
piece of gum from Posh's hairstylist!!!! Matt asks her if she bought
the gum here, and Jennie says she bought it in the UK. There is some talk
about the origin of the gum and whether or not it will tast
different/better because it's from the UK. [:-)] - Jennie tells Jenn
that she saw the pictures of Jenn's room. They were lying on Melanie's bed
or something like this. We tell Jennie about the current transit
strike in Calgary. She asks us if it's because they want more money
(we say it is, and Matt adds something else about the shuttle bus drivers).
I am a bit nervous (about this question), but I ask Jennie if Melanie
is as "okay" with her older fans as she is with her younger fans. I
purposely asked this question in a timid way, because I wanted to
indirectly tell Jennie that it is something that is sometimes on my
mind. Jennie notices this, and very calmly assures me that Melanie
does like her older
fans just as much. She also goes on to say that Melanie has picked up
such a wide variety of fans, and that this is great, and that she
(Melanie) likes it. I notice the gentle and genuine tone with which
Jennie uses, to try to convince me that she is telling me the truth
and that I shouldn't worry about it. Honestly, she came across very
genuinely and soft during this whole time, and she definitely knew
that I asked that because sometimes I feel hurt as an older fan.
I ask Jennie: "Excuse me for
asking, but is it fun working with
Melanie?" She says "oh, it's terrific, she's such a nice and terrific girl."
I then ask her if sometimes it is hard to deal with Melanie's fans (I ask
her this because I am aware of what happened in Israel with a few
fans). She says that usually they are not a problem, but that they
have to be careful with a few fans who are overzealous. I should note
that she answered this question very calmly, so it didn't evoke any
strong emotions in her, ie, she doesn't seem to be mad at any of Mel's
fans in general. Jenn later brings up the issue of going to Melanie's actual
hotel room and how it's a rude thing to do, and Jennie very much
agrees.
I tell Jennie how me and
Ophelia had booked a room at the hotel they are staying at, to which
Jennie laughs. She thinks it's crazy, but sweet. She does say that they
aren't going to be at the hotel that night because they are
leaving on the tour bus that night for Edmonton. I ask her if
Ying is here, and Jennie says she is (because I hadn't seen Ying yet
that day).
Jennie says something about
her husband (I don't remember what, but this certainly means she has a
husband). Oh yeah: it was probably because Matt and Jenn joked that she
should decorate her house all Spice Girls, and Jennie said her husband
probably wouldn't like it, LOL!
Jennie tells us that
Melanie flew in from LA (I thought she flew in from Texas according to
her web site) and that everybody else flew in from England. She talks about
the foot-and-mouth disease briefly, and how they had to go through the
de-sensitizers at the Calgary International Airport. She says there was a
very strong smell of vinegar during this process. Jenn shows
Jennie the pictures she took from a birthday party she and Matt threw
on Emma's and Melanie C's birthdays. Jenn goes "we're not crazy, BUT"
and Jennie laughs as she looks through the pictures, some of which
show Melanie's and Emma's dolls cutting their birthday cakes and
blowing party blowers. Jenn then talks about doing the same for Victoria's
birthday coming up. Jennie really enjoys the pictures, as they are funny,
and she thinks we are all crazy, but in a good way.
We tell Jennie about meeting
Melanie at the work-out room, and we all go into a little talk about
how crazy it is for fans (us) to go to such great lengths to try to meet a
celebrity. Jennie says that "when you look back on it, you are going to
think "what was I fucking thinking"?", Jennie says this in a thoughtful way,
as if she is reflecting on her own past (which I'm sure she was doing at
this time actually). I think she says something about she herself doing some
crazy things when she was younger.
Matt goes on about how amazing
it is to be talking to the person
who did Posh's hair!!!! Jennie brings up the fact that she did Posh's
and David's hair for their wedding. She tells us to look at the OK
magazines of Posh's and David's wedding to see all the pictures of them and
her. She says that back then, her (Jennie) hair was a bit bigger and that
her face was a bit plumper. She says a few things about Karen who was the
make-up artist for the wedding.
I notice that Jennie must be very proud of her work on the wedding, as
she keeps on mentioning for us to take another
look at those magazines. [:-)] - She says that touring (with Mel C) is
fun, but can also be quite *tiring*. Jennie asks us how we
found the time to do so much today (in relation to finding Mel C).
Matt and Jenn tell her that they go to a school that allows them flexible
hours. I tell Jennie that I work full-time for a company, and that I'm the
one who handles the company's meeting times, and so I re-scheduled
everything to begin that morning, so that I could have the afternoon
off!!!! Everybody laughs at this comment. Matt and Jenn tell Jennie of
how they got downtown (that I picked them up), and Jennie turns
to me and goes "oh, so you're the chauffeur". Jenn then later tells
Jennie that I "pick up Mel C fans at random".
I ask Jennie if she
recognizes fans who camp outside Melanie's house (hee hee, thinking of
somebody from Holland). And Jennie says no, but that she does
recognize some fans who go to all the TV studios all the time. (Jennie
probably doesn't recognize such camping fans because Jennie doesn't
live with Melanie, like how Ying does). Jennie tells us that she
hasn't been really able to see the city (Calgary) unfortunately, in reply to
my question about whether or not she has been enjoying it in Calgary.
Matt and Jenn tell her about
how they advertise for the SG in their school by putting up posters
all over the wall. [:-)] They also tell Jennie about going early to the
autograph signing in December at 5 IN THE MORNING. Angie then
brings up the issue of Matt and Jenn seeing a drug deal as they are waiting
for the autograph signing, and Jennie goes "Drug deal" (as in "there
was one and you saw it?"), and then laughs at how such a situation can
bring fans to see such things. Jennie says that Melanie's cat,
Jessie, is a girl (I don't remember what made her say this though). I
think it's because Jenn said something about her own cats... Oh yeah:
it's because Jenn was saying her cat is also named Jessie, but that it's
spelled "Jessy" because it's a boy cat.
We tell Jennie that at
first, Melanie didn't have Calgary on her tour agenda, but that it was
later added on, and Jennie said that as long as a city has demand for
her, she will come. Jennie repeats this about 3 times throughout our
conversation (hint hint to all fans if you want Melanie to come to your city
- make public demand for it!!)
We ask Jennie what type of
music she likes. She takes a long time
to think, and finally says that she likes Dido and Coldplay. She kinda asks
us if we know who Coldplay are. She says that she doesn't listen to the
Spice Girls music right now, because she has heard it often already. She
says the same thing about Melanie C's music, I think. She also says that she
hasn't heard Melanie B's album yet.
Jennie notices that Ophelia is
very quiet and is not talking, and goes to her "you're very quiet"
trying to induce Ophelia to say something. (This I found to be very
nice/awesome of Jennie as she was trying to include all 4 of us
in the conversation). I tell Jennie that Ophelia is from Hong Kong.
Jennie asks Ophelia a few questions about where she is from. Jennie
then later verifies that me, Matt, and Jenn are from Calgary. "oh, you're
all from
Calgary" is how she asks this to me, Matt, and Jenn. Matt says that he
does not like Calgary, and Jennie softly asks "why don't you like
Calgary?"
Jennie asks us how we all met. We tell her that we met back in
December when Melanie was here. I think this is what caused us to tell her
about the drug deal, and about Matt and Jenn being at the autograph signing
at 5 am. I think Jennie thought it was cool
that we all met because we like Melanie C.
-Jenn says something about not liking Paris. Jennie agrees, and says
that she doesn't like it much either. She says that some of the
Parisiens ar mean, but that if you look at it, it's true of some
Londoners as well. I ask a stupid question (because I'm confused as I
don't know why Melanie's interview isn't on the radio yet): "Jennie,
is Melanie here yet?" Matt and Jenn instantly make fun of me, saying
"Oh Angie, no, Melanie isn't here, Jennie is just up
here sitting because she wants to be here (at the radio station)."
Jennie and me laugh at this comment from my friends.
Throughout the whole
conversation, Jennie honestly thinks that Melanie is still holding the
interview and that when she comes out to the lobby, we can all take
pictures with her (Melanie). In fact, she is so polite and keeps on
saying: "you can have your picture taken with her when she comes out, I'm
sure she'll be coming out this exit" . Unfortunately, a security guy
comes into the lobby, and tells Jennie that Melanie is done her interview
and that Jennie should go back with Melanie. We say our goodbyes, but
then the security guy just suddenly kicks us all out, so we don't get our
picture with Melanie. I think Jennie honestly thought we were very
nice and could have our picture taken with Melanie, but I guess the
damned security had different ideas, and Jennie honestly wasn't
aware of this. Anyway, that's all I remember. I wanted to post this
to inform everybody that Jennie is/can be very nice to Mel C's fans.
>>
Meeting Melanie C & Seeing Her Live
Submitted
By: Nadia
Story:
Review of Melanie’s
concert
<<
Click Here To See Nadia's Pictures in the Gallery >>
Date : April 10, 2001
Place : Club Soda, Montreal (the show),
Musique Plus (interview)
FIRST, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY
THAT I’M SPEAK FRENCH AND YOU CAN FIND MISTAKES IN MY MESSAGE…SORRY BUT I
THINK IT’S VERY INTERESSANT TO READ THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!!!
Before the show, me and two
of my best friends decided to walk on the Montreal’s street especially the
building of Musique Plus, a special place who can meet artist, hear music
like Much Music. There is a lot of people before the building who wait to go
in Musique Plus for see Melanie C. I go to talk to the man and i demand for
go in. After few minutes, he decides to say YES! Wow the dream of my life
because i can meet Melanie and the audience was very small about 30-40.
During the advertisement, Melanie has signed an autograph for me and i taken
a picture with Miss Melanie C herself.
After, i gone to the Club
Soda for wait the marvellous show. I try to be in the first line and it’s a
success. I can put my hands on the stage and i touched Melanie’s legs during
the show. I was very near to my idol! For the songs, i don’t be able to
remember the rank of the song but i know the first, Go, and the last, I turn
to you. For the others, she sung : Northern star, Why, Feel the sun (fast
version), Suddenly Monday, Closer, If that were me, Never be the same again,
Gaga, Be the one, Goin down, When you’re gone. I don’t want to describe all
the songs because we know this talented girl. I can describe Melanie C with
this words : natural and simple, very present on stage, wonderful voice
because she’s be able to sing and can sing many styles, she’s original and
beautiful!
I hope that you’re be able to have the
same sensation as me in this incredible day.
We are proud of you Melanie and we follow
you in your music’s career.
A real fan
Nadia Gervais
Thanks to all people who
have taken the time to send us their stories. |